December 24, 2008

One Billion Dollars In 13 Months

Here is a partial list of the money the Yankees, over the last 13 months, have agreed to spend:
Jorge Posada:     4/ 52.4   Nov 29, 2007
Alex Rodriguez: 10/275 Dec 13, 2007
Mariano Rivera: 3/ 45 Dec 17, 2007
Robinson Cano: 4/ 30 Feb 2008
Nick Swisher: 5/ 26.75 Nov 18, 2008
CC Sabathia: 7/161 Dec 11, 2008
A.J. Burnett: 5/ 82.5 Dec 12, 2008
Mark Teixeira: 8/180 Dec 23, 2008
That's roughly $850 million in free agent signings (actually, Swisher's contract was acquired in a trade). With various extras and options (e.g., two club options on Cano would add another 29), this list could top $900 million. And that doesn't include the bloated salaries they'll be paying to CI (20), Damon (13), and Shemp (13) in 2009. New York has agreed to nearly one billion dollars in new contracts in a little over one year.

So can all the idiots who've been referring to the Red Sox as "the new Yankees" stfu? The Yankees are "the new Yankees". Or the old Yankees. This is nothing more than a return to the Steinbrennerian tradition of throwing piles of money at the wall and hoping some of it sticks. The one difference is they are throwing money at players in their late 20s and not their mid-30s. Actually, that's not completely true. If he stays in New York, CC will pocket $23 million for each of his age 32-33-34 seasons. Ouch.

The Yankees lost two of their three biggest bats (Giambi, Abreu) and their best starter (Mussina). Teixeira fills some of that void, but if Cano, Posada, and Shemp can't rebound from 2008, their offense will not have improved that much. Wang will be back and CC may match what the Bigot did last year, but AJ's health remains a big question mark. The media may crow about the potential for these guys to win 120 games (the same people who promised Randy Johnson would notch 30 wins for the 2005 Chokers), but they have merely narrowed the distance between themselves and the Red Sox/Rays.

I'm looking forward to Mr. Hankee blowing his stack on a daily basis when this team, who despite the cash outlay noted above finished in third place last year and for whom anything less than a World Series championship in 2009 will be a colossal failure, is 6 GB in June.

26 comments:

s1c said...

The MFY's will not be 6 gb in June. The Yankees fixed pitching, plugged a hole at first base and still have the best offensive line up in the league. This will be a team to reckon with in the regular season, post season though will be a different story.

While I think Teixera would have added a lot to the Sox, I still think the Sox have a good team and will also be in the mix for the post season. Would it surprise anybody if the Sox and the MFY's met in the ALCS? It would not surprise me and I will take Francona over Girardi any day of the week.

(merry christmas / happy holidays / and happy new year to you and L-girl).

BklynSoxFan said...

Well said, my friend. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

laura k said...

Thanks s1c! To you and BH, B'fly (and all) too.

While I think Teixera would have added a lot to the Sox, I still think the Sox have a good team and will also be in the mix for the post season. Would it surprise anybody if the Sox and the MFY's met in the ALCS? It would not surprise me and I will take Francona over Girardi any day of the week.

That says it for me.

I don't do the off-season prediction thing, it all seems incredibly silly to me. The Yankees have improved their team, that's clear, and will probably be more competitive, but how much more, and what our team will look like, and what injuries all the teams will deal with, and if Girardi will get fired, and all everything else, no one knows.

Most people talk like they actually know what's going to happen. If only someone kept track and called them on it. (Allan, please don't take that as a hint.)

I was sorry to not get Teixera, but some Sox fans seem really over the top about it.

No surprise there, I guess.

laura k said...

So can all the idiots who've been referring to the Red Sox as "the new Yankees" stfu?

That too.

Benjamin said...

The MFY have plugged some huge holes that opened by the end of the season. So far, the Sox haven't plugged theirs. I hope we have by the end of February.

andy said...

So make no moves in the off season and call that good team management?

Meanwhile in other parts of the East a team is stacking their deck. I'm sorry I just cannot think this new yankees crop will be a disaster like the last generation. This feels more like 90's yankees.

A team did this last year though and we did not panic. Detroit. That was a failure. However the Marlins bought a team once and that worked out well.

laura k said...

December seems like a good time to start panicking.

Stephanie Frisina said...

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays / New Year to you Allan and Laura, as well as the rest of the JoS crew!

Here's to a good 2009 full of wins, pennants and champions!

Also best wishes to SoSock and SoSockette and best of luck in 2009! Hope everything works out great!

tim said...

Dammit. That comment above was from me.

laura k said...

I was wondering who Stephanie was! I should know by now.

Thanks Tim. All the best to you and Steph too. :)

9casey said...

andy said...
This feels more like 90's yankees.



Happy Holidays to all, I need to talk to somebody about how they package toys for kids....




About this feels like more like the '90s yankees , I don't see it that way, the '90's yankees , beat you with Bernis, O'neil, Martinez and Brosius, alot of role players who just did their jobs, when you stack the deck, somewhat like the tigers did last offseason, sometime it just doen't work..

If they sign Manny and they play him in left with Johnny in CF and Matsui in right they could possiblly have the worst fielding outfield in history, slow and gettin old......no one knows if the catcher will be able to throw. The one thing i think that will truly help them this year is Wang, if he is healthy...But CC and AJ they don't scare me....

laura k said...

Happy Holidays to all, I need to talk to somebody about how they package toys for kids....

Talk to us! Like there's a state secret inside? You need CIA clearance to open them?

About this feels like more like the '90s yankees , I don't see it that way, the '90's yankees , beat you with Bernis, O'neil, Martinez and Brosius, alot of role players who just did their jobs,

I didn't get that either. The 90s Yankees were actually a team, not a collection of expensive parts.

allan said...

How about early 90s Yankees? ... Anyway, A-Rod is no Brosius, that's for damn sure! That dude was a player!

And this has been mentioned before (by ish, I think):

The Yankees CANNOT sign Manny. They have signed 3 Type A free agents this winter -- that is the limit -- they CANNOT sign any more. Manny is a Type A FA. Therefore, Manny CANNOT sign a contract to play for the Yankees.

I knew it was Tim the whole time.

9casey said...

L-girl said...
Happy Holidays to all, I need to talk to somebody about how they package toys for kids....

Talk to us! Like there's a state secret inside? You need CIA clearance to open them?




L, they screw down and tie down every little part of a simple toy, it is aenough to drive ya friggin mad.....L, I am a patient man ,but when your 3 year old looks at you like you are an idiot ,because it takes you 30 minutes to free a matchbox from a carton. oy vay....

It also took me longer to put together a toy kitchen, then to cook a Prime Rib and eat it...

9casey said...

redsock said...


The Yankees CANNOT sign Manny. They have signed 3 Type A free agents this winter -- that is the limit --


Some writer made a good point about Tex,how he got MVP money and never finished higher than 7th in the voting..And AJ Burnett maybe a type B, until this year he was a 500 pitcher, and he still had a 4 era..

andy said...

Feels like in that I don't see them losing now. Everytime you pick up all the top players you cannot win or lose.

Dave said...

"The Yankees CANNOT sign Manny. They have signed 3 Type A free agents this winter -- that is the limit -- they CANNOT sign any more. Manny is a Type A FA. Therefore, Manny CANNOT sign a contract to play for the Yankees."

Yes they can. Check your facts. They cannot sign both Manny and Pettite.

Anybody who doesn't think the Yankees are going to be a much better team in 09 is in denial. That doesn't mean they'll win it all... but they have as good a shot as anyone else.

laura k said...

Anybody who doesn't think the Yankees are going to be a much better team in 09 is in denial.

But no one here said that.

laura k said...

It also took me longer to put together a toy kitchen, then to cook a Prime Rib and eat it...

:>)

You know me, I just hope your little boy plays with the toy kitchen and your little girl plays with the matchbox car. Or maybe drives the matchbox car through the toy kitchen. :)

laura k said...

Check your facts. They cannot sign both Manny and Pettite.

I've been checking the facts, and although the rules are vague and confusing, it appears that Allan is right.

At the very least, one can "check your facts" and come up with different answers.

People come around here acting like it's talk radio. Geez.

SoSock said...

People come around here acting like it's talk radio. Geez.

Now THAT'S a great line :)

So the Yankees spent a ton of money - ho hum.
I still say they'll be tough for a couple of years, but won't necessarily get what they want/need - the big prize.
And after that it will be just plain fun listening as they try to justify the salaries they are paying for sheer unadulterated mediocrity.
Oh , and thanks for the warm fuzzies Timephanie. :)

Rob said...

Wait... This isn't talk radio?

Rob said...

By the way, you're part of the Blogosphere again!

Rob said...

So this is the point where I learn something interesting about MLB that I never knew before... You can only sign 3 Type A free-agents in an off-season? Or is there more to it than that? Or is there sarcasm?

(I asked where Manny would go and Phil talked about the maximum allotment of Type A FA's, for the record. In case anyone was curious.)

laura k said...

Wait... This isn't talk radio?

Maybe it is. What station is it on?

So this is the point where I learn something interesting about MLB that I never knew before... You can only sign 3 Type A free-agents in an off-season? Or is there more to it than that? Or is there sarcasm?

There's way more to it, and there might be sarcasm, but don't ask me about that!

I read about it today at various threads. It depends how many Type A FAs are available during any given season, and a whole bunch of other vague and confusing shit.

Now I return to ignoring the whole thing. Except when rude people with no profiles appear to pronounce other people wrong.

tim said...

I knew it was Tim the whole time.

Heh, am I really that noticeable?